About 150 people gathered for the second annual Jonkonnu event at the Bellamy Mansion Museum, a traditional African-American celebration dating back to the 1700s featuring dancing, story-telling, mask-making and drums.

The last rays of sunshine glowed on the horizon as Leland resident Harry Rivenbark and a friend steered their 19-foot Carolina skiff back to shore Friday night. They had just rescued a buddy’s boat from a sand bar on the Cape Fear River, and were headed home.

The next time you see a brown pelican skimming over the waves or look out at the marsh as you ride beside the treetops on the elevated section of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, you can thank in large part a piece of legislation marking its 35th anniversary.

The Page family never knew it had a future farmer in the household, until Haywood Page graduated high school at 15 and college at 20.<br>Haywood Page died Nov. 23 from esophageal cancer at the age of 80.